Lockheed Martin Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:LMT)

Lockheed Martin Co. (NYSE:LMT) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Investors bought 16,855 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 63% compared to the typical volume of 10,335 call options.

Institutional Trading of Lockheed Martin

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LMT. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Lockheed Martin by 60,592.0% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,559,178 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $911,433,000 after buying an additional 1,556,609 shares during the period. Wulff Hansen & CO. raised its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 56,626.7% during the second quarter. Wulff Hansen & CO. now owns 1,021,081 shares of the aerospace company’s stock worth $476,947,000 after acquiring an additional 1,019,281 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lockheed Martin by 124.0% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 450,870 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $263,561,000 after purchasing an additional 249,591 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Lockheed Martin by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,074,855 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,797,437,000 after acquiring an additional 240,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in Lockheed Martin by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,389,025 shares of the aerospace company’s stock valued at $1,981,088,000 after buying an additional 209,591 shares during the last quarter. 74.19% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Lockheed Martin Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:LMT opened at $529.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.66. The company’s 50 day moving average is $568.75 and its 200-day moving average is $528.91. The firm has a market cap of $125.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a P/E/G ratio of 4.29 and a beta of 0.49. Lockheed Martin has a 12 month low of $413.92 and a 12 month high of $618.95.

Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.50 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $17.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.38 billion. Lockheed Martin had a net margin of 9.36% and a return on equity of 101.44%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.77 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Lockheed Martin will post 26.94 EPS for the current year.

Lockheed Martin Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $3.30 per share. This is a positive change from Lockheed Martin’s previous quarterly dividend of $3.15. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $13.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. Lockheed Martin’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Lockheed Martin from $600.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Lockheed Martin from $560.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Lockheed Martin from $675.00 to $665.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Lockheed Martin from $519.00 to $626.00 in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Melius upgraded Lockheed Martin from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $704.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $611.00.

About Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin Corporation, a security and aerospace company, engages in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration, and sustainment of technology systems, products, and services worldwide. The company operates through Aeronautics, Missiles and Fire Control, Rotary and Mission Systems, and Space segments.